Why Your Office is So Cold

If you noticed you need to add a layer to your outfit at work despite the temperature rising outside, you’re not alone. Scientists argue that one reason you feel so uncomfortable is that office thermostat settings are still influenced by the temperature they figured an “average male” would find comfortable in the 1960s and ’70s. But the truth might be a bit more complicated than that. The American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommend that indoor temperatures be kept between 73 and 79 degrees in summer, but that today, many officers are kept between 68 and 72 degrees. The air conditioning itself is partly to blame, as they are often oversized and struggle to find the right balance of air temperature and humidity. The other issue is that our body temperatures are affected by a number of factors, and that every individual feels comfortable at a different temperature.